ONE in seven bosses do not have a problem with employees lying on their CVs, according to a survey published today.

The research conducted by The Aziz Corporation showed 14 per cent of company directors and senior managers are comfortable with staff telling untruths in their job applications.

In the same poll, more than 80pc of bosses said they did not mind employees sending personal emails and making personal phone calls at work.

And while only 7pc of managers feel it is acceptable for an employee to tell an occasional lie to them, 37pc believe it is OK for staff to tell "white lies" to customers.

This figure rises to 46pc for those who believe lying is acceptable if it could safeguard the company.

The survey was conducted with senior managers across Britain as part of the eighth annual Aziz Management Communications Index.

Aziz Corporation chairman Professor Khalid Aziz said: "The survey shows that many UK bosses believe that it is acceptable for their employees to lie, so long as they aren't lying to them.

"These senior business leaders regard occasional lies from employees as more acceptable then poor time-keeping and no worse than absenteeism.

Remarkable

"Most remarkable is that 14pc of senior management felt that it was acceptable for an employee to lie when writing their CV.

"This very serious breach of confidence was regarded as more acceptable than taking a sickie or fiddling an expense claim.

"Honesty may not always be the best policy from a business point of view, but it should certainly be something that senior managers should encourage amongst their staff.

"The damage that can be done to their personal reputation and that of their company is often difficult to recover from. It is important for senior staff to lead by example."

The research showed that slightly more bosses (11pc) find poor time-keeping more acceptable than lying.

But surfing the internet during office hours, sending personal emails and making personal phone calls were considered acceptable by 36pc, 83pc and 85pc of respondents respectively.

The survey showed only 2pc of bosses believe it is acceptable to lie to take sick leave, just 3% think it OK when making an expenses claim and 24pc believe it is fine when explaining about being late for a meeting.

It also appeared to show that women bosses seem more comfortable with lies at work then men.

Professor Aziz said: "It has often been a staple on TV and in movies that female businesswomen use untruths to their advantage - from the humble secretary who out-schemes her scheming (female) boss in the movie Working Girl, to the weekly machinations of Joan Collins as Alexis Carrington in US soap Dynasty.

"It is interesting to speculate whether or not these portrayals are influencing the way that female bosses are behaving in the workplace."